Lark Crafts

Amanda Carestio

A member of the needlearts team, my latest crafty obsessions are stitched projects: I blog here and at digsandbean.blogspot.com. I’ve also been dealing with a serious Flickr addiction, a love affair with fusible web, and a compulsion toward an inordinate amount of online swaps, bees, and groups (go, Modern Quilt Guild!); maybe you know the feeling? I love where I live (I’ve moved here twice!), and I try to explore this magical place on a regular basis with my hubby and my very own brindle squad (a dynamic duo of sweet, yet horribly spoiled canines). Feel free to email me directly:Amanda@larkbooks.com!

Beth Sweet

Being on the Craft Your Life Team makes a lot of sense for me: infusing my day-to-day life with creativity—whether that’s editing and developing books at Lark or baking something sweet in the kitchen—is quite the perfect fit. My little pup and I spend our free time hiking, reading, and experimenting with encaustic. (Well, only I do the painting. The pup’s better at chewing things than making art.)

Carol Barnao

I grew up in balmy Columbia, S.C., so I feel most comfortable when it’s 80+ degrees out. I spend most of my free time rollerblading, running, or mountain biking at the trails and try to find time to paint in my little outdoor studio. Craftwise, I just did a whole lot of DIY (invites, flowers, veil, etc.) for my recent wedding.

Gavin Young

My workday begins and ends with books, and I can’t think of a better way to spend my hours than perusing the creations of Lark’s great authors and editors. Sometimes my day starts with quilts, moves into cakes, and ends with contemporary jewelry. I get to question details: Should that really be an em dash? And I ponder the big picture: Does that intro convey the perfect level of cuteness? Like all other Larkers, I’m constantly inspired to make things, but I usually end up buying them instead.

Hannah Doyle

I’m new to the Lark Jewelry & Beading team after a one-year stint with Lark Photography/Pixiq. At home I haven’t done much crafting—I spend most of my time reading, watching old movies, cooking, and hiking—but I love that both of my jobs at Lark have challenged me to learn skills and crafts that I might not have taken up otherwise. Although I grew up in northeast Texas, Asheville’s mountains and streets feel like home to me now. I may entertain fantasies of learning French and moving to a city on the Mediterranean, but for now I’m happy to be part of the Lark Jewelry team.

Kathleen McCafferty

I’m a creative writer, a crafty dabbler, and a wannabe skater. Ira G, my three-year-old terrier mix is my trusty assistant. Asheville is my Emerald City; Lark, my yellow brick road. Home is where my homies are, and I’m lucky to have the best friends a girl could want. I like to nap, craft, eat chocolate covered peanuts, buy art, take walks, and read books.

Kathy

I grew up crafting in Indiana. From the fiber arts world of sewing, quilting, and weaving, I found my way into the clay studio and then to the graphic arts arena. During my years at Lark, I’ve been in the fortunate position of not only documenting artists at work, but being inspired by them, too.

Kristi Pfeffer

I graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a BFA in graphic design. I have been working professionally for over 15 years, ever since the old days when printers would “strip” film plates—my first job was as an apprentice film stripper. I live in Asheville with my Momma just around the corner and the best roommate ever: my dog, Laika (although I wish she could fetch the laundry). My interests include going to school to study environmental management and policy; figuring out ways to create artwork that is zero-waste and uses nontoxic, repurposed materials; reading books on astronomy, quantum physics, environmental issues and mystical Judaism; staring at pictures of the Large Hadron Collider; and daydreaming about going to Geneva, Switzerland to listen to the hum of scientists searching for the Higgs boson.

Linda

I’m a big city transplant from the flatlands of Texas and get energy from the great outdoors: gardening, hiking, and just sitting on the back deck taking in the mountains. That’s in the summer. In the winter I’m never far from a heat source and pass the months looking at the weather forecast, reading, watching foreign language movies, and planning the next vacation. I have an eclectic attention span when it comes to crafts, futzing around with one until another captures my interest—many times inspired by a book I’m working on.

Meagan Shirlen

I’m quite pleased to be working as a designer for the awesome Needlearts Team here at Lark Crafts. I hold a B.S. in biology and Master of Arts in Teaching from UNC Chapel Hill, as well as a two-year Post-Baccalaureate Certificate of Major in Multimedia Arts and Sciences from UNC Asheville. A reasonable person might ask, “What led you down such a twisted path of studies?” I suppose the simplest answer is that I’m unreasonable. I have a hankering to live a life I love doing creative work with wonderful people. It seems to be working out splendidly so far! Outside of work, I love spending time with dear friends, taking photographs, surfing the net for interesting information of questionable accuracy, reading, hiking, playing video games, visiting local festivals, encouraging others in their heartfelt endeavors, guessing Myers-Briggs personality types, combining diverse ideas into a workable mishmash of personal life philosophy, exploring back roads, bopping around to music of all kinds, having lucid dreams, and pondering the nature of consciousness. My crafts are photography and the digital arts, but I did start knitting a washcloth several years ago. It’s really more of a long towel than a washcloth at this point. My future goals include learning how to bind-off.

Nathalie Mornu

Nathalie Mornu loves shiny things. Her focus as a Lark editor is on beaded jewelry, although she has also penned A Bounty of Bead & Wire Earrings and Leather Jewelry and co-authored the book Chains Chains Chains.

Nicole McConville

I’m an accordion-wielding, assemblage-making, music-obsessed, gardener-in-training, green-renovating, avidly-reading introvert. I live in a 90-year old, renovated bank building with my ecological cosmographer husband and our extraordinary circus dog companion. I’ve had about a dozen different jobs at Lark over the years but feel right at home leading the Craft Your Life team, happily donning my big-picture ringleader hat.

Ray Hemachandra

I’m a New York-D.C.-Chicago-Bellingham-Asheville guy, and it's my pleasure to lead the great group of pros on the Lark Jewelry & Beading team. I never stop being wowed by the creativity and professionalism of jewelers and beaders around the United States and the globe, and it's our commitment to create books and social networking forums — like this blog and our Facebook page — to support you. Let me know how we're doing: ray@larkbooks.com.

Shannon Yokeley

So about me. Everyone at Lark calls me the digital ninja. I love print media but happily got sucked into the world of technology and eContent. Donning jeans and sporting blue-streaked hair, I spend half my time preparing material for e-reading devices and half my time reviewing images and layouts stuck to paper. Working with all of Lark’s art directors, I make sure that whatever it is…it better look great! And one side note: I’m obsessed with devil duckies and weird toys, and my office is covered with the results of my collecting.

Thom O'Hearn

A former Florida Gator and Random House editor, I'm now thinking up new books and editing them at Lark. My books up to this point have covered everything from printmaking and paper dolls to sewing and soft toys. Some of my author's greatest hits have been featured in the New York Times, the Tate Modern Museum, Dwell, Design Sponge, and Apartment Therapy. When I'm not at work, I enjoy reading, making stuff on the potter's wheel, and formulating new homebrew recipes.